Crews get handle on Mission Trails fire

San Diego Fire Fighter/ Paramedic Amber Taddeo, left, was one of the first to respond put out hot spots as other fireman continued up the steep grade to put out the fast-moving Mission Trails fire. Helicopters and fire fighters from San Diego, San Miguel, Lakeside and Santee fought the fast moving

David Brooks

San Diego Fire Fighter/ Paramedic Amber Taddeo, left, was one of the first to respond put out hot spots as other fireman continued up the steep grade to put out the fast-moving Mission Trails fire. Helicopters and fire fighters from San Diego, San Miguel, Lakeside and Santee fought the fast moving blaze as it made its way up and over Kwaay Paay, an area popular for rock climbing.

San Diego Fire Fighter/ Paramedic Amber Taddeo, left, was one of the first to respond put out hot spots as other fireman continued up the steep grade to put out the fast-moving Mission Trails fire. Helicopters and fire fighters from San Diego, San Miguel, Lakeside and Santee fought the fast moving blaze as it made its way up and over Kwaay Paay, an area popular for rock climbing. (David Brooks)

A fast-moving brush fire that charred 95 acres in Mission Trails Regional Park north of San Carlos Sunday was 70 percent contained Sunday evening as crews continued mopping up through the night.

Three helicopters and two fixed-winged aircraft helped about 200 firefighters battle the blaze, San Diego Fire and Rescue spokesman Lee Swanson said.

The fire crested Kwaay Paay Mountain — north of the visitor center — about 3:15 p.m., and crews there worked to keep it from spreading. One firefighter suffered heat exhaustion.

Witnesses called the fire department about 2:15 p.m. when flames were spotted near the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor and Interpretive Center along Father Junipero Serra Trail, a San Diego Fire and Rescue Department dispatcher said.

One of those callers was Jessica Bieker, who had planned a hike in the park with her three kids. They spotted flames when they left the visitor’s center.

“It spread fast,” Bieker said. “It was just a bush at first, but by the time the police arrived it was as big as a swimming pool.”

The fire grew quickly but so did the effort to knock it down. By 6 p.m., some fire-fighting resources were being withdrawn from the area. A fire investigation task force, including an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, was on the scene late in the day.

The park wasn’t particularly busy during the hot afternoon and park rangers were able to corral all visitors in about 45 minutes, said Rebecca Smart, a Mission Trails park ranger.

San Diego police blocked eastbound traffic on Mission Gorge Road from Jackson Drive to Father Junipero Serra Trail as fire crews worked to douse the flames.

Firefighting aircraft were dropping retardant on the flames as helicopters made water drops on hot spots. Firefighters dragged hose line up the steep mountainside to get the flames surrounded.

Although no homes were immediately threatened, fire officials had been keeping watch over a mobile home park and condominiums near Bushy Hill Drive in Santee. The structures were about a mile and a half from the fire.

San Diego Fire Department officials said Father Junipero Serra Trail will be closed through the park from Gate 1 to Gate 10. The park Visitor Center will be closed, as will three hiking trails.